How to end gun culture in Pakistan?

Society being subject to changes over the time always stays a constant victim of worst impact from any change causing factor.Change causing factors may either be social,religious,political or economical etc.

As change is always constant so if some evil prevalent in a society needs to be rooted out,it can easily be accomplished by analysing the evil's origin and finding out ways to curb it wholly or partially at least.Pakistan being the land of diverse ethnicities is the best example of a society having an obsessed fascination towards guns.From khyber to the remote areas of southern punjab onward to the lands of balochi tribes share the same feature i,e. the love,liking and a boastful interest about guns.

Bringing about change in a society where people show little regard and respect for the law of land is a painstaking and laborious job.In addition to the moral upbringing of the society,stricter law making and an across the board implementation of the same will yield the desired outcome.In this regard,suggestions based on the facts and figures of Pakistani society are as below.

1.Private manufacturing of guns and ammunition is a booming business in the country enjoying a nominal check mechanism thus playing a fundamental role in promoting the social evil of gun culture.State must straightaway ban this business or direct its supply towards the fulfillment of gun stock demands of state law enforcement agencies.

2.In Pakistani society,people carry guns on their person mainly for three reasons I,e protection against fear from some individual/group owing to ages long family or tribal enmity,protection against fear originating from miserable law and order conditions in the society which is understandable but the most common and trouble creating reason is the show off behaviour of people who take pride in being escorted by gun carrying personnels as this is considered a status symbol.

Here comes the two pronged tackling technique state has to apply to achieve the targeted goal.

(i)addressing the origins of reasons forcing people carry guns

(ii)gradual cancellation of issued gun licenses

In addressing the origins of reasons,state has to improve the law and order conditions as well as providing moral and legal help to people to resolve family and tribal enmities and encourage people to finish off their issues by fighting a legal trial instead of waging generation long wars on each other.

The status symbol factor will automatically be discouraged once the decline in the genuine need of guns commences and the process of cancellation of guns licences will speed up.

3.State must take unprecedented steps to stop smuggling of the same within and outside the borders of the country.

By taking the above measures it is hoped that the society of Pakistan will be seeing a substantial change in the country's overall peace situation.

By A.R.naqsh